Guitar support



Jan. 30, 1968 FYKE 3,366,293

GUITAR SUPPORT Filed Sept. 12, 1966 HOMER R. Fvxg INVENTOR.

United States Patent GUITAR SUPPORT Homer R. Fyke, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to John H. Emoto, Cypress, Calif. Filed Sept. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 578,842 2 Claims. (Cl. 224) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure is one of a musical instrument support system wherein a guitar-like instrument has a resonant hole in the front panel, a strap is looped at one end around the neck of the player, passed downwardly around the back panel and side wall of the instrument, then up over the front wall, and releasably attached with a hook to the lower edge of the resonant hole so that the pull of the strap on the edge of the hole is in an upside down direction, whereby the strap portion rather than the hook supports the instrument.

The invention has reference to supports for musical instruments, and in particular a neck sling especially adapted to support an instrument such as a guitar.

Although string instruments, such as guitars, banjos, mandolins and the like, can be handled and played by performers without employment of a support, many performers employ a support of some kind so that the weight of the instrument can be carried by the body of the performer. This helps minimize fatigue during playing. It also permits the performer to drop one or both arms without the necessity of disposing of the instrument in some fashion.

One of the difficulties with slings of the type heretofore employed has been that the sling draws the instrument too close to the body and the tone is often mufiled. Also, when the performer wants to get rid of the instrument temporarily, either the sling itself must be removed over the performers head or one or more snap hooks have to be released from the instrument itself.

It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new and improved support for a musical instrument which is easily attached and detached and which interferes to a minimum degree with the freedom of the performer while the instrument is being played.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sling for a musical instrument such as a guitar which permits the instrument to be tilted away from the body so that the sounding board is out of contact with the performer, thereby to interfere least with the resonating quality of the instrument.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sling for a musical instrument in the nature of a guitar, which permits the instrument to be supported and played with the playing hand only, should occasion require, and which can be released from the instrument by merely rolling the instrument over slightly without any occasion for positively disengaging attachments such as hooks.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved sling or support for instruments in the nature of guitars, which is compact, simple and inexpensive, and which engages the instrument in a direct cushioned fashion which avoids interference with the tone quality of the instrument while it is being played.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a performer showing the support in use for supporting a guitar.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the performer holding the instrument.

FIGURE 3 is a side perspective view of the support.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional View showing the manner in which the instrument can be held away from the body when the support is in use.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the end of the support which is attached to the instrument.

In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration there is shown a performer 10 holding a guitar 11 by use of a support indicated generally by the reference character 12 which is hung about the performers neck. The support itself consists of a strap 13, preferably of relatively soft web-like material which includes an adjusting buckle 14 at one end through which a free end 15 of the strap can pass. A clip 16 is of relatively flat stock and is provided with a slotted opening 17 through which the strap 13 can slide. At the opposite end of the clip is a reversely bent portion forming a hook 18. The hook 18 is appreciably narrower than the portion of the clip provided with the sliding opening 17. It has also been found advantageous to bend the hook 18 slightly along the line 19 so that clip stands away from a front panel 20 of the guitar 11, when in use.

Following conventional construction, the guitar, in addition to the front panel 20 is provided with a rear panel or sounding back 21 and a side wall 22 connecting the panels. In the front panel is a resonant opening 23 which allows tones resonating within a sound chamber 24 to emerge.

In use, the strap 13 is applied over the head and neck of the performer and the height at which the clip 16 is supported is adjusted by manipulating the buckle 14. The clip is then fastened to the guitar by inserting the hook 18 into the opening 23 and engaging the hook with the lower side wall of the opening. This requires a portion 25 of the strap 13 to engage the side wall 22 at the lower side as shown so that in effect the strap itself forms the support for the instrument. When the instrument is attached in the manner described, the instrument can be held in playing position by a player or performer by merely resting the right forearm on the body of the guitar leaving the left hand substantially free. What is of special importance is that the body of the guitar, and as exemplified by the rear panel 21, can be tilted forwardly away from the body of the performer, the tilt being suggested in FIGURE 4. The rear panel can be tilted as much as 45 degrees away, or more or less, depending upon the comfort or convenience of the performer. The important thing is that the rear panel 21 of the instrument is permitted to stand free and to be free to resonate as the instrument is played without being mufiled by contact with the performer or the performers clothes.

When the instrument is to be disengaged, it is necessary only for the performer to tilt the instrument further forward and then downward, in which position the hook 18 disengages and falls free, without the need for any positive unsnapping or time consuming disengagement. The support 12 then merely dangles from the performers neck until it is time to be reengaged. To reengage the hook the performer merely holds the instrument in the usual position and reapplies the hook 18 to the wall of the opening 23.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, What is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A method of supporting in playing position a musical stringed instrument having a sound box comprising a rear panel, a front panel, a side Wall holding said panels together, and a resonant opening in the front panel, said method comprising forming a loop of strap material, applying one end of the loop over the head of the wearer and in a position supported by the neck, passing the other end of the loop under the sound box and around the front panel in supporting engagement With said side Wall and said front panel, and fastening a free end of said loop to the edge of said resonant hole on the lower side of the hole with the instrument in playing position, thereby to suspend the instrument in playing position upon the body of the player and against the underside of the players playing arm.

2. A musical instrument support system comprising a 20 guitar-like instrument including a sound box having a back panel, a front panel having inside and outside faces and a resonant hole therein formed within a surrounding inside edge, a side Wall connecting said panels, and a support for holding the instrument with the back panel adjacent a players body and one long side of said side Wall facing downwardly, said support comprising a strap having a neck engaging loop at one end adapted to surround the neck of the player and a clip on said strap at an end opposite said loop, said clip comprising a reversely bent relatively fiat section forming a hook with an open portion between opposite sides of width greater than the thickness of said front panel, said hook being in releasable engagement With said front panel at a lower side of said edge of the resonant hole, an outermost portion of said hook being in engagement with the inside face of said front panel, said strap having a position extending from the hook over a lower portion of the outside face of said front panel, an adjacent portion of said long side of the side Wall and at least a portion of the back panel Whereby to releasa-bly suspend theinstrument from the neck of the player.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 279,706 6/1883 Carroll 224-l4 612,298 10/ 1898 Zuberbier. 1,592,556 7/1926 Canaan 224-5 2,564,318 8/1951 Wick 2245 X 2,651,441 9/1953 Rau et a1 2245 2,885,812 5/1959 Aprin 2241 X 25 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. J. SPAR, Assistant Examiner. 

